Apple Said to Lose Cheyer, Co-Creator of Siri Voice Unit

By Jonathan Erlichman and Adam Satariano -
Sep 12, 2012

Adam Cheyer, an engineer who helped
build the Siri voice-recognition software that was acquired by
Apple Inc. (AAPL), is no longer working for the iPhone maker, according
to three people familiar with the situation.

Cheyer, a Siri co-founder and its former vice president of
engineering, left recently after working in Apple’s mobile
software group, said one of the people, who all asked not to be
identified as the matter is confidential.

The departure is at least the second among Siri’s founding
team since Apple bought the company in April 2010 and follows
the exit of Chief Executive Officer Dag Kittlaus last year.
While Apple has made Siri the defining characteristic of its
iPhone 4S, the service has been criticized by some users who
have complained it doesn’t match the experience portrayed by
actors such as Samuel L. Jackson in Apple’s television
commercials.

A class-action lawsuit by a group of customers was even
filed against the company for misleading advertising. Apple has
denied any wrongdoing.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this year that while Siri
is one of the most popular features of the iPhone 4S, “there’s
more that it can do.”

“We have a lot of people working on this,” Cook said at
the D10 conference in May when asked about the glitches. “And I
think you will be really pleased with some of the things you’re
going to see over the coming months.”

Siri was integrated into the iPhone 4S last year and
further enhancements may be shown at Apple’s event in San
Francisco today, where it’s expected to unveil a new iPhone.